Dragons’ Den 2013: Entrepreneur Piers Linney has joined the show!

It’s been revealed today that entrepreneur Piers Linney is set to join Dragons’ Den in the new series.

He and fellow newbie Kelly Hoppen will sit alongside old hands Duncan Bannatyne, Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden when the show returns to BBC2 later this year for its eleventh run.

MSN reports, “Linney, who has a wide range of professional experience, is joint chief executive of Outsourcery, a world leading cloud service provider…

“He qualified as a solicitor specialising in private equity and also worked as an investment banker and venture capital fund manager.”

In May 2011, Piers featured on hit Channel 4 series Secret Millionaire, during which saw him working with inmates at a Young Offenders’ Institution, one of whom he later employed.

Of his new role on Dragons’ Den, Piers said, “Having been a professional and private investor, I stepped into what started out as personal investment to run it, and am now building a world-leading business.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to join Dragons’ Den and once again support entrepreneurs both financially and through my extensive network.

“I also think I can widen the appeal of the Den to information economy entrepreneurs as they are key to the future success of the UK economy.”

Ceri Aston, the show’s executive producer, added, “Piers is a new breed of dragon…

“A young and dynamic digital entrepreneur, he has his finger on the pulse of an industry that has never been represented in the Den before.

“He’s at the helm of a business that he is successfully building and growing, so his story is an inspiring one for any entrepreneur looking for investment on the show.”

Hoppen and Linney have of course been brought in for the new series after Theo Paphitis and Hilary Devey quit.

Lynn is an editor and writer here at Unreality TV and is a trained psychotherapist and the author of two books. She's addicted to soaps, period drama and reality TV shows such as X Factor, Big Brother, BGT and I'm A Celeb.